Introducing new Giants blogger, Warren Greshes

My name is Warren Greshes. For a number of months now, I have been submitting comments to Wylie Wong’s “Giants Talk,” fan blog under the name “Long Suffering Giants Fan.” But now, I am both pleased and excited to announce that I have been invited to co-write the blog with Wylie, so permit me to introduce myself and give you some insight into what you can expect.

For the past 22 years, I have traveled the world as a professional speaker, author and business owner. Born and raised in the heart of New York City, I have lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the past 11 years. I am 56 years old, very happily married for almost 25 years to the same woman. I have two terrific children; Michael, 20, a rising junior at Elon University in North Carolina and Emily, almost 17, who will be entering her senior year at East Chapel Hill High School in the fall.

I don’t smoke or gamble. I hardly ever drink and I wouldn’t even think about running around with other women. I am the epitome of a responsible, solid citizen. But before you start thinking that I’m the most boring, normal person in America, I must confess to one BIG vice: I am a lunatic baseball fan; more specifically an insane, long-suffering fan of the San Francisco Giants and have been a Giants fan since 1957, when they were the NY Giants.

In fact, I am a 3rd generation Giants fan. My grandfather was a Giants fan going back to the days of John McGraw and Christy Mathewson. My father, who is 81, is still a Giants fan to this day, dating back to the Bill Terry, Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell era. Me, I go back to the days of Mays, McCovey and Marichal. My son, Michael is a rabid Giants fan too, starting in the Barry Bonds era. Simply put, in my house you’re either a Giants fan or find someplace else to live.

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I have numerous Willie Mays autographs and pictures of him all over my Bonus Room. I have a photo of Bobby Thompson’s “Shot heard ‘round the world,” personally autographed to me by Thompson himself. Of course, I have a framed picture of Mays’ catch in the ’54 World Series and naturally a team picture of the 1954 Giants, the last Giants team to win a World Series (now you know why I call myself “Long Suffering Giants Fan”).

From the middle of February, when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training until the last pitch of the World Series, I am a different person than I am during the rest of the year. I have a satellite dish that allows me to watch every Giants game (plus other baseball games when the Giants aren’t on TV). I subscribe to MLB.com so I can watch the Giants on my computer when I’m travelling. I will watch any baseball game.

I can’t help it; I LOVE baseball. I enjoy NBA basketball (been a Celtics fan since 1959). I like NFL football (big NY Giants fan, also since ’59), but I rarely watch it if the Giants aren’t playing. However, I would trade all 16 Celtics championship banners and all 3 Giants Super Bowls for one lousy, stinking World Series championship.

I follow all the Giants minor league teams online and will watch any kind of baseball game. Right down the road from me in Durham, we have great minor league baseball with the Durham Bulls and I love to go watch the University of North Carolina’s baseball team (one of the best college teams in the U.S.) play.

Get the picture; I’m insane; just ask my wife, Linda. There’s a saying in our house: whenever a Giants game is on Linda always asks, “Do you have to watch it,” and I always say “It’s a big game.” They’re all big games.

I love the movie “Fever Pitch,” with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. It really captures the psyche of the crazed baseball fan (Fallon plays a Boston school teacher who is a berserk Red Sox fan). There are two lines in particular that really nail it. If you’re a true fan, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Right near the beginning of the film Jimmy Fallon is speaking with another teacher in his school who asks him “Are you going to watch the Celtics tonight?” Fallon says, “Ahhh, I don’t know.” The other teacher replies, “You know there are other sports besides baseball,” to which Fallon says, “I could argue that with you, but it would only lead to me being led out of here in handcuffs.” I couldn’t have said it better.

The other great line happens when his girlfriend (Drew Barrymore) informs him she is going on a business trip to Paris the first weekend of September and is taking him with her. The first thing he does is look at the Red Sox schedule on the wall and say to her, “This weekend? I don’t know, Seattle is in town, there’s three weeks left in the season and we’re only 2 games out. This is when they really need me.” When you say to yourself “I can understand that,” you have now qualified as a true “Baseball Nut.”

From now on, I’ll be posting my comments, insights, observations and especially my frustrations on the present season, which, so far, is shaping up to be one of the great Giants disasters of all time.

Unlike the “Loveable loser Cubs,” and the formerly “Cursed” Red Sox, the Giants failures seem to fly under the radar. But aside from the Cubs (1908) and the Cleveland Indians (1948) no team in baseball has gone longer without winning a World Series. In fact, no team has gone longer in the same city (the Giants have been in San Francisco for 50 years) without winning the Series.

So if you’re a baseball fan let’s hear from you and especially if you’re a Giants fan, let’s share our frustrations. I’ll be with you all season; then right through the Hot Stove League and back again when pitchers and catchers report.

Warren Greshes

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Since you know the Giants so well, and have identified that this season is a disaster, would you please help do something that no sportswriter seems willing to do? Every writer for the Mercury and Chronicle loves to weigh in on the relative competence/effectiveness of Sabean without actually detailing their argument. It’s not that hard. I’m a Giants’ fan as well and to me it seems apparent. For his first 6 years with the G’s he was one of the best GM’s in the game and for the last 6 he’s been borderline spastically incompetent. I argue that the beginning of the end occurred after the great signings of Schmidt and Bonds to long term contracts at the end of the 2001 season. Since then he’s nearly rolled snake eyes. This is how I pencil it out but I’m sure I’m missing some.

Please help.

The good:

-Signing Vizquel
-Trading for Winn
-Signing Molina
-Drafting Cain

The excellent:

-Drafting Lincecum

—————————–

The bad:

-Signing Roberts
-Signing Aurilia
-Believing in Walker
-Believing in Chulk
-Believing in Tomko
-Overpaying Winn based on 2 months of one season
-Durham contract #1
-Durham contract #2
-Sticking with Snow just for his defense
-Trading for Hillenbrand
-Signing an injury plagued Alou
-Overpaying Bonds (bidding against yourself) for his last year

The horrible:

-Signing Alfonzo
-Signing Morris
-Signing Benitez

The Hall of Fame, should-cost-you-your-job bad:

-Trading Nathan/Bonzer/Liriano for one year of Piers***sky (the worst major league trade since Smoltz)
-Signing Zito (the worst free agent signing ever)
-Not developing a single impact position player from the farm system

Well, Long Suffering.. Don’t let working for the “respectable” SJMN hold you back… Hope to see a steady stream of posts coming..

Barfighter

A Good welcome to you from Barfighter! I do disagree on this being a season of disapointment. I feel that the Giants are going to make a run at 500 baseball and a possible run for the division. My major concern at the beginning of the season was their relief pitching and by that I mean Walker and Wilson. Their development aside from a few setbacks has been nothing short of astounding and whith someone of Hinshaws obvious talent and temperament and the continuing contribution others in the bullpen, I see something wonderful evolving.

The Giants whith the addition of another bat either at third or first ( My preference would be at first because Bowker has the swing and mindset to be something in this league) whith the continuing development of their top three young starters and a remergence of Zito, this team could upset all early season prognosticators. Remember in the post steroid era pitching, defense and manufacturing runs are the national league west blueprint for success and I see that in the Giants.

This team is learning to win through all their close and late game disapointing losses and Boch although I do see him as a transitional manager through trial and error is seeing who fits and misses into the present and future plan and scheme of our SF Giants.

Wyatt

#1: I have to give Sabes props for looting Schmidt from the Pirates for Rios and Vogelsong. Put that in with The Excellent.

Fumble

You’ll do fine, Warren, as long as you write more often than Wylie did.

wupuck

Welcome! I look forward to hearing what you have to say! I was a huge Giants fan until I fell in love with hockey & the Sharks, but I still catch the Giants when they play.

I’d love to hear what the Giants do this draft – if they do draft a pitcher, he better be a Cain/Lincecum type player or else I’ll be pretty steamed.

I would love for them to find a way to dump Aurilia, Durham, Roberts, Walker, & Winn. It boggles my mind that Aurilia, Durham & Winn are still finding their way into the lineup regularly. Dump them for anything, even draft picks would be better then what they are getting from them now.

If the Giants can trade Vizquel or Molina for any sort of good young talent (even a high 1st round pick), then I say do it. However I would prefer to keep them on the team for the time being – they know how to play the game right and can be a real benefit in the clubhouse.

I like J. Sanchez & N. Lowry, but if another team is willing to give up a to much for either of them I wouldn’t mind Sabean dealing them. That brings up another point on Sabean – it’s time to really give him a short leash – I have no problem with him as a GM, but under his term, the Giants farm system has gone from bad to dismal – that’s just unacceptable. If the Sharks & Warriors can develop talent and actually become a contender, why can’t the bay areas most recognizable team do the same?

This team just needs to rebuild from the ground up.

Wyatt

Outsourcing to Chapel Hill for a Giants blogger? Satelite or no, would you read a Duke expert who lives in the Bay?

wylie wong

Warren has some great ideas for the blog, and knows the Giants — and the game — inside and out. So it doesn’t matter where he or any of us lives. Giants fans are everywhere. As Warren wrote, his family has been Giants fans before the team came to SF. When I initially contacted Warren, I came away impressed with his baseball knowledge. And in the coming weeks and months, I think you will, too. Thanks for reading. I hope you stay and continue to be a part of this community, and in time, realize that Warren is a great addition.

gmoney

What about the Matt Morris to the Pirates for Rajai Davis and that other scrub? We got lotsa cash/roster spot and they got a 9-something ERA then retirement. Even the A’s got a piece.

Any Giants blog is a good blog in my opinion (another East Coast suffering Giants fan)

Sick of It

Trading with/for draft picks isn’t allowed in MLB, so giving up one or more of our broken down vets for a draft pick won’t work. Nice idea, but even if it was allowed the Giants have the only GM who would give up a top pick for a bum. That’s essentially what Sabean did when he signed the immortal Michael Tucker several years ago, deliberately forfeiting a first-round pick because the Giants were too cheap to pay a big signing bonus to a prospect. Add that ignominious move to the list of Sabean’s stupidities.

Steve

How can you be a Celtics fan and then root for the New York (football) Giants? As a local Giants fan, I don’t want to be identified like the Cubs or Red Sox. Lets just stay under the radar like the White Sox did.

TrainWreck

I’m not getting my hopes up–they’ve been dashed too many times before–but that was an enjoyable series in Arizona. The Giants have too many fundamental flaws to contend for a division title (the most glaring being a lack of talent), but I’m hopeful that series like this can be building blocks toward a brighter future. In tonight’s game, it was encouraging to see Fred Lewis take a walk in a crucial situation instead of swinging for the fences. And maybe Brian Wilson is learning that less is more when it comes to ninth-inning adventures (trust your stuff, don’t try to be too fine, and for God’s sake, don’t walk the leadoff man!). On the downside, we saw tonight why Daniel Ortmeier isn’t getting much playing time. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s Randy Johnson out there, but the dude is 44. Simply put, if D.O. can’t lefties then his career is D.O.A.

kevin

Warren,
I’m a 57 year old 3rd generation Giants fan born outside NYC now living in Vermont. Lived thru every box score and Saturday Game of the Week Giants broadcast of the glorious yet heartbreaking 60’s (more wins than anyone, yet just one pennant….second almost every year, to a different team!)…among favorites were the overachieving ’78 and ’81 clubs and hated the latter Bonds years. This year’s team is fun to watch from afar, with young guys finally getting a chance. It’s not bad to patch with a Vizquel, Aurilia, Molina and even Winn, while youngsters learn at other spots…the young pitchers need SOME help for their efforts and the young position guys need role models to teach them how to be ML-ers…Sabean deserves a couple of post-Bonds years with a mandate to build a development machine…he did that with the Yankees, but suffered under an organizational philosophy of building around the surly Bonds. I think the club took the wrong fork when they kept Bonds and let Kent go..Kenbt was surly, but a gamer and real pro…Re: Nathan/Liriano for Pierz’ski…how doews it stack up with Cepeda for Sadecki?

Look forward to reading you.

AdamM

Welcome to the blog. Giants fan since my first game, Marichal vs. Gibson, 1968. My second favorite team is the Cardinals, based no doubt on that first game.

Who do you think the Giants should draft #5? No one seems to address this, but from what I read Smoak at 1st base is a can’t miss prospect who should be ready in a year (minors for 1 year) and a 35-40 homer guy in the majors. I would settle for a 280. average, good defense and 20 homers, 80 rbi average. We need to address the third base situation and shore up the pen.

We can stay in contention if starting pitching improves.

Jerome

I’ve also been a Giants fan for about 50 years and am glad to know there is another voice to listen to from time to time. I would certainly not call this season a disaster, however. Expectations might have been of precisely that, though the actual level of play is generally much better than I had anticipated. They are an unpredictable lot, of course, being such a combination greybeards and shaveless faces, but there does seem to be an eagerness and a motivation that is refreshing. If we break 500, it will be a fine year. Even if we don’t, it’s still baseball, and still the Giants.

Jon

I too am a long suffering Giants fan. I was raised in the Bay Area and was 10 years old when the G-Men moved to San Francisco. I have been a long suffering fan since then. I hate the dodgers ( I refuse to give them a capital d). I now live in San Diego and my retirement job is as a Guest Services Representative (fancy name for an usher) for the Padres. When the Giants come to San Diego, I wear a Giants shirt under my uniform and I wear my Giants watch my wife bought me a few years ago for Christmas. I like the 2008 Giants. I don’t expect a playoff berth this year, but I do think they are heading in the right direction.

ontheedgeofacliff

Hey man, welcome and I hope you add another solid voice of reason since around here we have kawakami which i refer to as kamakazi cause he always seems to crash and burn.

I too am a long time giants fan and I hope these few wins these last couple of days are a sign of things to come and I hope you have some good input to add.

and 50 years from now I hope i’m not still waiting for a championship like some…

Sabean sucks

Bellevumike, that is one of the best blogs I have seen. You really hit all the points.

I am so tired of hearing the Giants say they are playing the veterans because they give us the best chance to win. Two years ago we were the 10th worst team. Last year we were the 5th worst. This year we are right there for another horrible season. There are 30 fricking teams!!! Can it be possible the Giants just won’t say “our young players suck too & that’s why we are playing the old, boring guys.”

Sick of It

Feeling optimistic after the Arizona aberration, were you? Hello, stone cold reality. Apart from a few serviceable pieces, this is a really bad team. Patrick Misch is not a big league pitcher. Why don’t the Giants realize this? Will they let him attain a Zito-(grot)esque record before they make a change? Like Chulk, this guy get hammered every damn time he pitches. And as with Chulk, the Giants keep running him out there. But they DO have other pitching prospects, especially at AA Connecticut (not much left at Fresno). Why not try them out? Why not let Hinshaw try starting? Noah Lowry won’t be back anytime soon, and the Giants need a lefty in the rotation. But not Misch. Not Misch. Not Misch. Say it five times fast, Brian. Not Misch. And would you please get a hitter for your anemic lineup?

Sick of It

Referencing post #1, Sabean’s first trade may have been his best: sending Matt Williams to Cleveland for Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez, and Joe Roa. Obviously, the only name on that list that really matters is Kent. Trading the popular Williams took guts (I was ripping mad at the time and wrote a letter of protest to the team), savvy, and foresight. Unfortunately, those are the very qualities that have been in short supply in Sabean’s more recent moves.